50/50
Today, we finally created our "How To" show and I can honestly say I learned a lot from this project. 
1. Personally, film production is more enjoyable than television production because you get to take your time and you are not restricted with time limits and a certain "theme" like scrap booking or cooking. Film gives you a lot more creative freedom and if something doesn't work, you simply re-shoot it. Which brings me to my next point.

2. There is no room for mistakes. If the smallest thing goes wrong, it can possibly bring your whole production down to the ground. This happened to us today. To begin with, I think it took us a bit too long to setup today. There were some things we just couldn't control like Alexa's headset which wouldn't work. There were also problems with my mic which also would not work. 

3. We need to learn how to properly communicate with our teammates. I noticed a lot of confusion coming from everyone in the group and it just held us back. I guess maybe it's due to the fact that this is our first time but we need to communicate better in order to make a good show. We also had a hard time communicating because the mic on my headset wouldn't work and Alexa didn't have a headset either. 

4. Everyone needs to know what they are doing and need to be confident about it. From the talent, to the camera operators, to the directors in the back. People need to be assertive and confidently give other team members suggestions or requests. 

Overall, I think we did the best we could. I am not sure if we met the time limit or went overboard but this was our first show and I think that with time, we will gain skills needed for this kind of production. I am happy with my groups efforts and I'm sure that we will make a great morning show for next year that the whole school will enjoy. 

Dear Diary,

I had a lot of trouble trying to come up with a film noir story only involving teenagers simply because most film noir films involve adults. After trying really hard, I drifted from the story and ended up watching cases of teenage schizophrenia patients on YouTube. Don't ask me how I got there. That was one source of inspiration. I got more inspiration for my story when I started listening to The Shining soundtrack. I always get ideas when I listen to that because it's so dark and full of emotions. It lets my imagination run free. After that, my writers block was gone and ideas came to my head from all directions.       

    
It was a bit disappointing when my story was rejected because it wasn't film noir enough for Spencer but that is how film is. I know that there will be many rejections in the industry and I need to take it and move on. I like my partners idea, don't get me wrong, but I just wish mine was accepted. 

So then we had to work on Spencer's story and that was hard for me too because since I didn't work on it, it was really hard to picture what Spencer was thinking. Parts of the story were confusing to me and so I suggested we write a new story. That didn't work out because we were running out of time so we stayed with Spencer's story and changed stuff.

Overall, I have already learned a lot about the pre-production phase. There will be rejections, and there will be acceptance. We will now take all the suggestions that we got in the pitches and try to fit them in the story.

(Sorry if this sounded a bit weird but its 9:23 pm and I'm tired.)  

Argo is Best Picture Quality!

For those unlucky souls who haven't watched Argo, need to as soon as possible. I am so glad I was able to catch this in the theaters because it was simply a masterpiece. If I would've paid $20+ for this movie, I wouldn't complain. I wouldn't even mind writing a film analysis on it. This film has everything. Action, comedy, and definitely suspense.  It has a great story and being based on a true story makes it all that better and incredible. I think that Ben Affleck did an amazing job in this film as a director and an actor. I don't know what the Academy was thinking because he isn't nominated for either category. At least he won at the Golden Globes.

But this post is about Academy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin. (Pictured above) Arkin played Lester Siegel in Argo. Lester Siegel was a fake producer for the fake film Argo. Arkin was pretty much the comedy of the movie and I thought it worked well. His comedy gave us a bit of relief from all the craziness. But it's the way he delivers his lines that doesn't disappoint me because I don't think anyone else can pull those one-liners like he did. Now I can make a prediction if he will win because i haven't seen the other films but I think he can really win.

This Can't Get Any Worse...

More Board Game Movies?!

According to FirstShowing.net, Emmett/Furla Films is giving serious thought into the production of three more board game films. They have agreed to finance and produce the films. The board games include Monopoly, Action Man, and even Hungry Hungry Hippos! Unbelievable. But wait! There's more! Ridley Scott is set to direct one of the films. It might be Monopoly since they have been planning it for 5 years! The studio is not yet sure on how the movie will be made whether it is live action or fully animation. It seems like Monopoly will be the first to be shot and released of the three films.

Really Hollywood? Have you completely run out of ideas that you have to turn to board games? I think this is ridiculous! Hollywood isn't what it used to be and this is proof. I can actually see Monopoly as a movie but not Hungry Hungry Hippos. I think the biggest disappointment is that Ridley Scott is directing this because I would expect better from him. He is too good of a director to be doing these kind of movies. As a student, this affects me greatly. This shows me that I should expect anything when I start to work in the industry. As a future filmmaker, this also affects me a lot because I don't want to make these kinds of movies. It really shows me how Hollywood has run out of ideas.  I have to work harder to make more interesting movies. From reading the comments under the article, many people are mad because they too have noticed that this isn't clever at all. I don't want people to hate my movies. As a consumer, I would never watch a movie like this! I would try to stay as far away from it as possible because it just doesn't seem like a good idea. I want to spend my money on something worth $11 like Frankenweenie or The Master.

How will these movies do in the box office? Will the critics like the films? How will they be made? Live action? Animation? I'd prefer animation.

Good Evening...

Master of Suspense Film!

On November 23rd, Fox Searchlight Pictures will release a film about the great Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock. It is based on Stephen Rebello's book,"Alfred Hitchcock And The Making Of Psycho." The film is directed by Sacha Gervasi. Since this film will be released in November, it will be just in time for the awards season. This is not just a biography or something like that. The film will be about his relationship with his wife. Believe it or not, his wife had a huge impact on the films he made. There are many huge names appearing in this film including Anthony Perkins and Scarlett Johansson. Ivan Reitman, Tom Pollock, Joe Medjuck, Tom Thayer, Alan Barnette are producing.

This article caught my eye because I saw the word Hitchcock. I immediately clicked on the link and read it. First of all, I am glad that this film will come out but I'm not so sure how good it will be. If I watch it, I will not be expecting Academy Award performances. I hope it does well with the critics. I feel like this is important because people now have a chance to know who Alfred Hitchcock is. He had a huge impact in the way movies are made today and people need to notice that. This is important to me as a student because maybe I can learn something from this film. Students should know who they are taking stories from. As a future filmmaker, I want to be recognized like Hitchcock. This just motivates me even more to be the best I can be. As a consumer, I want to watch a good film. I want the price of the tickets to be worth it. Since this will be released in November, I'm guessing this is trying to get nominated for awards. I want to watch something that will show up in the nominee list for Best Picture.

I have many questions regarding this film. Will it be any good? Will it make money in the box office? Will this be nominated for an Oscar?   

AFI Chooses the Best of the Year!

The new edition of the AFI Awards is set to take place on January 11 of 2013. Industry experts and AFI trustees will vote for the top 10 films and the top 10 TV shows of the year. The nominees will be announced on December 10 but the awards will be handed out on 1/11/13.

I am very excited for this event because I feel like AFI does a very good job in choosing the films and TV shows. I downloaded the checklist for the Top 100 Films of All Time and none of the movies listed have disappointed me. Except for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I didn't really "dig it".  This is great for me as a student because it tells me what I should be watching. More meaningful shows and films. I wish more people knew about this list because all people are watching is Jersey Shore and "reality" shows. As a future filmmaker, I want my films to be on this list. It would be a great honor to even be nominated. This is also great for me as consumer because if I were to buy a DVD or a TV show on DVD, I would want to buy a decent film or show. I don't want to waste money on something that is meaningless and is overpriced because its famous. For example, the other day I saw Casablanca on sale for $7.99 while The Lucky One (Zac Efron) was sold at $14.99. Amazing. I have a few questions about this. Who are the nominees going to be? Who will win? Why can't the date arrive sooner?!

The Good and The Bad
The Possession takes 1st place! 


On this Labor Day weekend, a horror movie, The Possession, took  $21.3 million home. The movie received poor reviews yet it has made the most in the box-office. According to RottenTomatoes.com, the film received a 35% score from the top critics. The Oogieloves earned an amazing $445,089 last weekend and is named the worst movie opening ever! Amazingly, this film for toddlers received a 33% score, just two percent away from The Possession! 


This article caught my eye because in the trailers, The Possession looked like a descent film but then I realized I have seen this before. Oh yeah, The Exorcist. This is important because we can see that Hollywood is having trouble coming up with original stories. This impacts me, negatively, as a future filmmaker because it's pretty much telling me that I can make a bad movie and the public will spend money on a ticket. This has a huge impact on me as a consumer because I want to watch something original. How many times have we seen a little girl possessed by a demon of some sort? I feel like many people left the theater with their heads down in disappointment. I have a few questions but here is two. Why did this film not open on Halloween season? I wonder how Paranormal Activity 4 will do in the box office.